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Memorial  Library 


£4- 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


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http://www.archive.org/details/exercisesatdedicOOalleiala 


EXERCISES 


DEDICATION 


Allen  Memorial  Library 

AND    SOCIAL    HALL 


THE   GIFT  OF 
GEORGE  O.   AND   CORNELIA  M.   ALLEN 


SCITUATE.  MASS..  JULY   15,   1911 


BOSTON 
WRIGHT  &   POTTER  PRINTING  COMPANY 
18  POST  OFRCE  SQUARE 
191 1 


GEORGE  OTIS  ALLEM 


At  the  request  of  the  donors  of  the  building,  I  have  pre- 
pared an  introduction  or  preface  to  this  interesting  volume,  as 
follows :  — 

The  Satuit  Library  Association  held  its  first  meeting  Feb- 
ruary 11,1 882 ;  George  Webb,  its  President,  and  Charles 
Manson,  its  Secretary,  have  passed  away;  GEORGE  O. 
Allen  was  its  Treasurer,  a  position  held  continuously  by 
him  till  the  recent  change  of  name  to  the  ALLEN  LIBRARY 
ASSOCIATION.  His  sister  CORNELIA  M.  and  his  cousin 
Mrs.  Amy  Allen  Frye,  the  latter  for  many  years  past  Secretary 
of  the  Association,  were  members  at  that  first  meeting,  and  all 
were  earnestly  and  actively  interested  in  library  work,  as  in 
all  other  influences  for  good  in  the  town  of  Scituate.  The 
library  flourished,  doing  its  good  work  for  the  people  of  the 
town,  and  on  June  16,  1883,  its  Trustees,  GEORGE  O. 
Allen,  Samuel  P.  Barker  and  Frank  T.  Vinal,  purchased 
in  behalf  of  the  Association  the  land  and  building  on  the  site 
of  the  present  ALLEN  MEMORIAL  at  Central  and  Union 
streets.  The  grantors  were  two  dozen  or  more  descendants 
of  Nehemiah  Manson  of  the  family  of  that  name  which  sent 
forth  so  many  famous  captciins  from  Scituate  to  "  go  down  to 
the  sea  in  ships,  that  do  business  in  great  waters."  On  the 
fifteenth  day  of  September,   1910,  the  ALLEN  LIBRARY 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

Association  was  incorporated,  the  real  estate  thus  acquired, 
together  with  the  books  and  other  personal  property  of  the 
former  library,  being  transferred  to  the  new  corporation. 

This  was  in  accordance  with  the  proposal  of  GEORGE  O. 
ALLEN  and  CORNELIA  M.  ALLEN  that  they  would  build 
and  present  to  the  Association,  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of 
the  town,  a  library  building  and  social  hall  that  should  take  the 
form  of  a  memorial  to  their  father  and  mother. 

As  a  result,  the  beautiful  concrete  building  with  its  red-tiled 
roof,  a  perfect  gem  of  architectural  construction,  has  been 
erected,  and  on  July  15,  1911,  was  formally  dedicated,  with 
most  interesting  and  appropriate  ceremonies,  in  accordance 
with  the  programme  announced.  It  was  the  desire  of  the 
donors  that  a  full  account  of  the  proceedings  be  kept ;  so  at 
their  request  the  full  and  accurate  verbatim  report  of  all  that 
was  said  and  done  on  the  occasion,  as  transcribed  by  a  stenog- 
rapher, is  extended  in  full  on  these  pages,  with  portraits  and 
illustrations,  that  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  as  well  as  a  narra- 
tive of  the  event,  may  be  preserved  of  what  took  place  up  to 
the  time  when  the  Library  Association  took  possession. 

News  items  announcing  the  dedication  appeared  in  the 
"  South  Shore  Herald "  and  other  papers ;  invitations  were 
sent  to  former  residents  and  those  interested  in  the  town,  and 
these,  with  the  people  of  the  town  who  attended,  formed  a 
gathering  filling  the  building,  its  halls,  doorways  and  windows, 
while  all  available  space  for  standing  room  around  the  walls 
and  back  of  the  stage  was  taken  by  interested  listeners. 
4 


CORNELIA  M.  ALLEN 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

The  weather  was  delightfully  clear  and  pleasant ;  the  con- 
tinued torrid  wave,  extending  so  largely  and  for  so  long  a  time 
over  the  country,  was  tempered  by  a  gentle  east  wind  that 
cooled  the  air  and  made  the  interior  of  the  building  comfort- 
able for  the  audience. 

The  remarks  of  the  architect  and  other  speakers  so  well 
define  the  construction  and  purposes  of  the  building  that  a 
similar  attempt  here  would  be  a  repetition.  The  whole  is  a 
noble  memorial  to  the  father  and  mother  and  the  ancestors  of 
these  two  public-spirited  residents,  from  their  birth,  of  the  town 
of  Scituate. 

While  the  inscription  over  the  fireplace  in  the  main  hall  of 
the  library  says  "  This  Building  is  erected  as  a  Memorial  to 
their  Parents  and  to  the  Allen  Family  by  George  O.  Allen 
and  Cornelia  M.  Allen,"  it  is  not  inappropriate  to  name  the 
mother  of  the  givers,  among  whose  ancestors  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Scituate  and  another  one  of  the  original  Koni- 
hassett  partners  with  Hatherly  and  others. 

Without  going  back  to  Barnstable  or  Glastonbery,  Elng.,  we 
find  John  Otis  recorded  as  removing  to  Scituate  under  Cole- 
man's Hill  in  1 66 1  ;  in  1 678  he  went  to  Barnstable,  Mass., 
where  he  left  his  son  John  to  found  the  line  which  brought 
forth  the  patriot  James  Otis,  orator  of  the  Revolution,  and  re- 
turned to  Scituate.  He  died  January  1 6,  1 683,  being  buried 
in  the  cemetery  on  Meeting-house  Lane,  one  mile  south  of  the 
harbor.  By  the  marriage  of  Stephen  Otis,  his  son,  with  one 
Ensign,  the  latter  name  was  given  to  a  son  and  grandson,  of 

5 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

whom  the  latter,  bom  August  1 3,  1 777,  married  Lucy  Little 
September  17,  1801.  He  died  in  1822,  but  she  survived  till 
1 841 .  Of  this  marriage  was  bom  HANNAH  ENSIGN  OTIS, 
March  7,  1807,  who  in  1828  married  GEORGE  MiNOT 
ALLEN. 

GEORGE  MINOT  ALLEN  had  come  to  Scituate  from 
Pembroke,  Mass.,  with  his  younger  brother  William  Paley 
Allen.  The  latter  afterwards  married  Abigail  Brooks  Otis, 
bom  January  2,  1816,  another  daughter  of  Ensign  and  Lucy 
Otis ;  so  we  have  the  two  brothers  marrying  two  sisters.  All 
have  passed  to  their  reward,  after  lives  of  usefulness  and  in 
the  fulness  of  years. 

The  father  of  the  Allen  sons  was  the  Rev.  MORRILL 
Allen  of  Pembroke,  a  strong  personality,  one  of  the  best 
known  and  most  highly  respected  and  beloved  men  in  Plym- 
outh County  in  his  day.  His  ancestry  was  from  James  Allen, 
who  settled  in  Dedham  in  1 639,  while  others  of  the  family 
settled  in  various  parts  of  the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts 
Bay  colonies,  and  whose  descendants  are  so  numerous. 

MORRILL  ALLEN  was  born  in  1 776,  and  grew  up  after 
the  revolutionary  war  with  all  the  fire  of  patriotism  and  strength 
of  character  that  naturzJly  belonged  to  a  youth  of  his  strict 
training  during  the  formative  period  of  life.  He  graduated 
from  Brown  University  at  Providence  in  1 798,  and  after  years 
of  teaching  beceime  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  being  settled  in 
Pembroke,  where  for  msmy  years  he  ministered  to  his  beloved 
people.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  principle,  refusing  to  dis- 
6 


GEORGE  MINOT  ALLEN 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

cuss  public  or  political  questions  on  the  ground  that  his  influ- 
ence as  a  clergyman  might  have  undue  weight  with  his  parish- 
ioners ;  but  when  he  gave  up  his  pastorate  to  attend  to  his 
large  and  well-stocked  farm,  he  was  promptly  elected  to  the 
Massachusetts  Senate  for  two  succeeding  terms,  v^thout  effort 
on  his  own  part. 

He  was  known  as  "  the  pattern  farmer  of  Plymouth  County," 
and  was  honored  by  membership  and  office  in  all  sorts  of  agri- 
cultural societies.  On  the  day  he  was  ninety  years  of  age  he 
preached  a  sermon  at  Pembroke,  in  the  old  pulpit  he  had  for- 
merly adorned,  which  being  read  to-day  is  a  marvel  of  strength 
of  mind  and  clearness  of  thought ;  while  those  who  heard  it 
say  it  was  delivered  with  equal  force  and  vigor  of  statement. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-four  years,  mourned  by  genera- 
tions of  children  and  children's  children  and  friends,  who  had 
risen  up  "  to  call  him  blessed." 

It  is  as  a  memorial  to  these  ancestors,  ALLEN-OTIS,  whose 
names  stand  out  so  conspicuously  to  the  passer-by  on  the  joint 
family  monument  in  the  near-by  cemetery,  that  GEORGE 
OTIS  ALLEN  and  CORNELIA  M.ALLEN  have  erected  the 
building  which  bears  the  name  of  the  ALLEN  MEMORIAL. 
All  honor  to  them ;  and  to  them  the  people  of  Scituate  and 
all  who  enjoy  the  benefits  of  their  bounty  will  ever  render 
appreciative  thanks,  and  hold  their  names  in  tender  and  affec- 
tionate memory. 

Since  the  dedication  and  before  the  publication  of   this 

7 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

volume,  Hannah  Dean  Miller,  a  sister  of  the  donors,  has  placed 
in  the  reading  room  of  the  library  crayon  portraits  of  her  father 
and  mother,  George  M.  and  HannaJi  O.  Allen.  They  hang 
on  either  side  of  the  fireplace,  and  the  likenesses  evidence  the 
personeJ  nature  and  qualities  of  their  children  who  thus  per- 
petuate their  memory. 

C.  T.  G. 

Boston.  Mass.,  July  15, 1911. 


HANNAH  OTIS  ALLEN 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 


PROGRAM 
J_-/edication     of    tlie     -r\llen     IViemorial     JL/itrary 

g^atttrJiag,  Jfttl^  15,  1911 

at  3  n'riork  l^M. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  ALLEN  LIBRARY  ASSOCIATION 

President  .......  Tkomas  E.   S.   Cotton 

Vice-President  .......       Henry    R.    Prouty 

Secretary  ........  Amy  Allen  Fryc 

Treasurer  ........  George   O.   Allen 

TRUSTEES 

George  O.  Allen  Tkomas  E.   S.   Cotton 

XlOTvard   O.    Frye 

SxfrrtH^B  at  tly?  Npui  iCibrarg  HuilJittt^ 

Central  and  Union  Streets,  Scltuate,  Mass. 

Order  of  Exercises 

(SxttrtXaCt Orckestra 

WptaittQ  Praff^r        .  .  .  .  ty   Rev.   Milton  J.   Miller  o£  Geneseo,   111. 

Sritttrry  nf  tift  SuiUting  by  Willard   D.  Brown,   Arokitect.    to   George   O.  Allen 
ana   Cornelia   M.  Allen,   Donors 

^tWHSftt    tst    Hit^B  to  tke  Library  Association  by  Hon.   Ckas.   T.   Gallagker.  on 

bekalt  ot  Donors 

!^CtptSXUt  by   Tkomas   E,   S.   Cotton,    President,    and    Amy    Allen    Frye,    Secre- 
tary,  on  bekali   ox  tke  Association 

f^rtBStXSatttm   of    (Slack  anb   (SiattbUstirke  on  bekalf  o£    Mrs.   Nellie  Allen   Gal- 
lagker,  by   Hon.   Samuel  J.   Elder  ot  Mr  inckester. 

WtUamS  to  Hiattora  an&  ^tKOte    by  Hon.   Robert  O.   Harris,    M.C.,    of    East 

Bndge-water 

Mtxait 

!M^XtBa  ......        by  Hon.   Jokn  D.   Long   o£  Hingkam 

Vtntbitttan      ......      by  Rev.  Natkaniel  Seaver  of  Soituate 

Refreskments 

9 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 


Wxh^V  0f  ^KtttXBtB 


Promptly  at  3  o'clock  the  speakers  entered  the  social  hall 
and  with  the  donors  of  the  building  took  seats  on  the  stage. 
From  their  number,  Hon.  Charles  T.  Gallagher  of  Boston  came 
forward  and  said :  — 

I  have  been  requested  by  the  donors  to  preside  over  these 
exercises ;  the  duty  of  presiding  presupposes  the  necessity  of 
maintaining  order ;  so  orderly  a  town  meeting  as  this  does  not 
need  a  moderator.  It  has  been  suggested  that  I  conduct  the 
services.  This  would  be  appropriate  were  it  a  solemn  reli- 
gious observance  rather  than  one  of  geiiety  and  pleasure.  I 
suppose  my  Yale  and  Harvard  friends,  Brother  Elder  and 
Brother  Harris,  with  memories  of  their  college  athletic  contests, 
would  suggest  that  I  call  myself  a  "  starter  "  or  an  "  announcer." 
Whichever  it  may  be,  I  am  pleased  to  perform  what  little 
service  I  can  in  connection  with  this  most  interesting  event,  and 
will  "  start "  by  "  announcing  *'  that  the  music  will  be  furnished 
by  the  Schubert  Orchestra,  who  will  now  delight  our  ears  by 
adding  to  the  harmonies  of  the  occasion. 

The  orchestra  rendered  "  Mercadentes  Solitude  (Original 
Caprice),"  after  which  Mr.  Gallagher  spoke  as  follows :  — 
10 


REV.  MILTON  J.  MILlER 


THE, ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

Near  that  historic  rock  (the  cornerstone  of  the  nation)  from 
which  this  county  takes  its  name,  the  great  statesman  whose 
remains  lie  at  rest  in  Marshfield,  in  his  masterly  oration  of 
1 820,  said:  — 

Let  us  not  forget  the  religious  character  of  our  origin.  Our  fathers 
were  brought  hither  by  their  high  veneration  for  the  Christian  religion. 
They  journeyed  by  its  light  and  labored  in  its  hope.  They  sought  to 
incorporate  its  principles  with  the  elements  of  their  society,  and  to  di^e 
its  influence  through  all  their  institutions,  civil,  political  or  literary.  Let 
us  cherish  these  sentiments,  and  extend  this  influence  still  more  widely,  in 
the  full  conviction  that  that  is  the  happiest  society  which  partakes  in  the 
highest  degree  of  the  mild  and  peaceable  spirit  of  Christianity. 

I  will  ask  the  Rev.  Milton  J.  Miller  of  Geneseo,  III,  like 
myself  "an  Allen  by  marriage,"  Hannah  Dean  Miller,  his 
wife,  being  a  sister  of  the  donors,  to  invoke  the  divine  bless- 
ing on  this  undertaking. 

am  Mxitm  21.  MxiUr 

Let  us  unite  in  prayer ! 

Our  Heavenly  Father,  we  lift  our  hearts  in  gratitude  to 
Thee,  beseeching  Thy  blessing  on  the  services  of  this  hour. 
We  thank  Thee  for  the  gracious  spirit  that  has  moved  Thy 
children  thus  to  build  this  Memorial  Hall  for  human  welfare. 
We  come  rejoicing  to  dedicate  their  work  as  a  house  sacred 
to  learning  and  to  culture,  a  treasure  house  of  wisdom  old  and 
new,  garnered  from  the  ages  past  and  from  the  multiplicity  of 

II 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

minds  in  ages  present.  We  would  thank  Thee  for  the  his- 
tory, the  words  and  deeds  of  kindred  nations  long  past,  still 
our  inheritance,  as  a  gift  from  Thee  our  Father,  to  inspire  and 
comfort  the  living  souls  of  men. 

Father  divine,  we  thank  Thee  for  this  modern  time  in 
which  we  live,  a  time  of  increasing  knowledge,  with  new 
voices  and  new  visions  for  truth  and  right.  Here  may  the 
readers  come  with  fearless  courage  to  seek  the  truth  and  live 
it  in  the  love  of  God  and  man. 

May  the  cheerful  donors  of  this  home  and  the  happy 
receivers  rejoice  together  in  the  noble  service  of  peace  and 
goodwill  to  all  people. 

Father,  wherever  we  may  fare  on  our  various  journeys,  may 
we  love  Thy  leading  hand  and  may  we  hear  Thy  inspiring 
spirit  voice  and  may  we  follow  the  light  of  endless  joy  and 
living.     Amen ! 

Mr.  Gallagher.  The  gentleman  responsible  for  this 
building  up  to  the  present  time  is  the  architect.  The  builder 
would  naturally  be  here  with  him  to  share  the  responsibility 
of  criticism  or  blame,  if  there  were  any,  and  to  receive  the 
encomiums  that  should  come  to  so  good  work  as  they  have  pro- 
duced. 

Mr.  Willard  D.  Brown,  the  architect,  is  present,  and  I  am 
pleased  to  present  him  to  you  now. 


12 


^M 

►    ^ 

J^ 

r# 

f  ^^^^^^^^^^^hMMit.^ 

<4 

P^^ 

E^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^BI^^. 

HANNAH  DEAN  MILLER 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 


Mt.  Wxilwch  i*  Srnmtt 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  —  It  was  just  about  a  year  ago 
that  Mr.  Allen  first  informed  me  of  the  proposed  gift  by  him- 
self and  his  sister  of  a  library  building  for  the  people  of  Scit- 
uate,  and  requested  my  services  as  architect  in  that  connection. 
It  is  needless  to  say  I  accepted  the  proposition  with  alacrity, 
for  not  only  is  the  library  movement  one  in  which  I  am  deeply 
interested,  but  also  the  charms  of  Scituate  are  so  well  known 
that  I  foresaw  the  dreaded  visits  of  inspection  transformed  into 
veritable  holidays.  So  much  time,  however,  was  consumed  in 
the  preparation  of  plans,  in  the  securing  of  estimates,  in  the 
selection  of  a  contractor  to  do  the  work,  in  the  removal  of  the 
old  building  that  occupied  the  site,  that  it  was  fall  before  the 
contracts  were  finally  placed  and  the  work  actually  begun.  So 
that  in  consequence  my  anticipated  summer  outings  became 
dreary  wanter  pilgrimages ;  but  in  the  light  of  the  weather  of 
the  last  few  weeks  I  can  now  look  back  upon  them  as  most 
delightful  and  altogether  enjoyable.     [Laughter.] 

I  have  been  asked  to  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the 
building  itself,  its  design,  its  structure,  etc.  In  the  ordinary 
competition  the  architect  has  prescribed  for  his  guidance  a 
program,  more  or  less  rigid,  which  he  is  supposed  to  follow. 
With  this  competitive  element  lacking,  however,  the  architect 
must  in  a  great  measure  supply  his  own  program,  at  the  same  time 
following  out  the  wishes  of  his  clients  so  far  as  these  are  defi- 
nite and  vital.     He  must  have  an  ideal,  too,  to  live  up  to,  if 

13 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

he  can,  and  a  distinct  aim  and  purpose  in  everything  he 
does. 

The  scheme  for  the  present  building  seemed  to  be  to  design 
a  building  that  would  belong  to  the  place,  not  one  of  the  type 
so  often  seen,  apparently  dropped  from  the  skies  and  totally 
foreign  to  its  environment,  but  rather  a  library  having  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  village,  one  which  would  appeal  to  the  people 
as  their  own,  which  the  children  would  love  to  frequent,  and 
in  which  the  casual  visitor  would  love  to  linger.  In  fact,  I  feel 
strongly  that  a  village  library  should  have  these  characteristics 
if  it  is  to  successfully  fulfill  the  purpose  for  which  it  is  in- 
tended. 

Furthermore,  the  plan  should  be  such  as  to  admit  of  an  easy 
oversight  of  the  entire  building  by  a  single  attendant,  —  a  point 
necessary  for  an  economical  administration.  This  I  think  has 
been  carried  out,  inasmuch  as  the  librarian  at  her  desk  can 
command  the  reading  and  reference  rooms,  and  is  conveniently 
situated  as  regards  the  stack  room,  to  which  she  must  con- 
stantly go,  while  at  the  same  time  she  has  oversight  of  those 
who  have  the  privilege  of  withdrawing  books  for  themselves. 

As  to  the  stack  room,  it  might  be  well  to  say  that  provisions 
are  there  made  for  housing  some  4,000  volumes ;  while  the 
reference  room  and  delivery  room  will  take  care  of  some  1,200 
more.  Beyond  this  point  it  is  unlikely  that  the  library  will 
grow,  inasmuch  as  the  value  of  an  institution  of  this  sort 
depends  on  having  a  well-selected  working  stock  rather  tham 
a  large  total  capacity  of  volumes  made  up  of  dead  wood  and 
14 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

agricultural  reports  which  are  never  read,  which  take  up  room, 
and  are  a  constant  care  to  the  librarian. 

The  assembly  hall  has  added  a  feature  not  common  to  the 
usual  library,  but  one  very  valuable,  inasmuch  as  it  furnishes 
room  for  lecture  courses,  which  will  serve  greatly  to  broaden 
the  range  of  the  library's  influence.  It  is  also  available  for 
entertciinments  of  other  sorts,  and  for  this  purpose  has  an 
entrance  entirely  distinct  from  the  library  proper ;  and  with  its 
coat  rooms,  toilet  rooms,  anterooms  and  kitchen,  can  be  used 
without  interfering  in  the  least  with  the  use  of  the  library  itself. 

As  to  the  construction  of  the  building,  it  was  one  of  Mr. 
Allen's  wishes  to  have  the  building  as  fireproof  as  practicable, 
and  with  this  end  in  view  a  construction  of  hollow  terra  cotta 
blocks  has  been  employed,  even  the  supporting  floors  being  of 
this  material,  while  the  stack  room  is  further  safeguarded  by  a 
fire  door,  so  that  if  a  fire  should  by  chance  break  out  within 
the  building  the  books  themselves  will  not  be  harmed. 

In  speaking  of  the  construction  I  want  here  to  express  my 
own  thanks,  and  I  feel  sure  those  of  Mr.  Allen,  to  the  con- 
tracting builder,  Mr.  Otis  C.  Thayer  of  Lancaster,  who  I  am 
happy  to  say  is  present  with  us  to  help  with  me  to  bear  what 
blame  there  may  be ;  and  I  want  to  thank  Mr.  Thayer  for  his 
great  interest  in  this  building  from  the  very  start,  for  his  readi- 
ness to  remedy  all  defects  and  errors  that  may  have  happened, 
for  his  willingness  at  all  times  to  co-operate  with  the  architect, 
even  at  times  giving  us  more  than  he  was  called  upon  to  do, 
and  for  his  never-failing  courtesy. 

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Indeed,  this  spirit  has  seemed  to  animate  all  connected  with 
the  work,  from  Mr.  Jost,  the  foremcm  in  charge,  down  all  along 
the  line.  In  fact,  I  think  I  can  safely  say  the  building  is  a  very 
well-built  building,  and  I  hope  and  trust  it  may  meet  all  the 
demands  it  may  be  called  upon  to  fill. 

My  thanks  are  also  due  you,  Mr.  Allen,  for  the  trust  and 
confidence  you  have  placed  in  me  from  the  start,  and  I  con- 
gratulate you  and  your  sister  for  the  joy  and  pleasure  that  are 
yours  in  being  living  witnesses  to  the  happiness  your  munifi- 
cence is  giving  to  others.  And  it  is  my  pleasure  to  deliver  to 
you  these  keys  as  an  emblem  of  a  completed  building  and  a 
gift  very  much  worth  while.     [Applause.] 

Mr.  Gallagher,  handing  the  keys  to  Miss  Cornelia  M.  Allen, 
said:  — 

Miss  Allen,  you  are  entitled  equally  with  your  brother  to 
the  custody  of  these  keys,  and  whatever  views  we  may  have 
on  the  equal  rights  of  the  sexes,  it  is  naturally  appropriate  you 
should  share  with  your  brother  all  the  glory  of  this  occasion. 
[Applause.] 

And  now,  Mr.  Brown,  in  behalf  of  Mr.  George  O.  Allen 
and  Miss  Cornelia  M.  Allen,  who  hold  the  keys  of  this  build- 
ing, I  desire  to  express  their  thanks  to  you  for  the  successful 
work  you  and  the  builder  have  brought  to  completion.  The 
building  is  certainly  artistically  beautiful,  and  is  practical  and 
useful  for  all  purposes  for  which  a  library  and  social  hall  are 
needed.  It  is  a  credit  to  the  town  and  a  monument  to  the 
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Allen  family.  It  is  one  of  those  beautiful  structures  that  fulfill 
the  desire  of  givers  when  the  family  name  is  to  be  perpetuated 
and  parents  honored.  The  givers  are  Scituate  bom  and  bred ; 
a  town  not  only  literary  in  taste  but  patriotic  and  historic  in 
its  past.  In  their  behalf  and  at  their  expressed  wish  I  thank 
you  publicly  for  the  good  work  you  have  done  in  assisting  them 
to  carry  out  a  long-cherished  desire,  on  their  part,  in  this 
manner. 

Turning  to  the  officers  of  the  Association  Mr.  Gallagher 
then  said :  — 

I  now  desire,  in  behalf  of  the  donors,  to  extend  to  the  Allen 
Library  Association,  of  which  Mr.  Thomas  E.  S.  Cotton  is 
the  President,  their  congratulations  on  its  success,  and  to 
present  to  you  in  their  behalf  this  building  that  they  have  had 
constructed.  It  is  to  be  used  by  your  Association  for  library 
and  social  purposes ;  you  are  the  President  and  Mrs.  Amy 
Allen  Frye  is  the  Secretary ;  she  has  been  connected  with  the 
organization  from  the  beginning  of  the  Satuit  Library,  nearly 
thirty  years  ago,  to  the  present  time,  the  name  being  changed 
recently  to  Allen,  to  fit  into  the  new  building.  Your  interest 
and  her  zeal,  v^th  your  officers,  have  made  it  a  success  under 
the  old  name ;  you  will  continue  to  do  so  in  the  future  under 
the  new. 

You  are  to  take  this  building  in  charge ;  you  receive  these 
keys  from  the  Aliens,  and  they  place  them,  with  the  building, 
in  your  hzmds  as  President ;  you  and  your  associates  vvrill  watch 

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over  this  charge  that  is  thus  given  you.  It  is  needless  for  me 
or  any  one  to  suggest  what  the  duties  of  a  President  or  Board 
of  Trustees,  or  even  of  a  librarian  should  be,  in  these  days 
when  every  town  and  city  in  our  Commonwealth  has  a  library 
open  to  the  public  and  free,  and  the  duties  of  each  are  known 
to  all  interested.  Here,  youth  will  not  only  be  entertained, 
but  will  be  directed  in  the  paths  leading  to  the  best  literature ; 
diose  of  more  mature  years  may  acquire  that  which  will  teach 
them  "to  give  to  opinion  a  loftier  seat;"  men  and  women 
will  leam  "  the  psalm  of  labor  and  the  song  of  love;  "  middle 
life  and  old  age  will  enjoy  from  the  books  that  will  be  selected 
by  you  and  your  associates  such  good  as  will  solace  and  com- 
fort their  years ;  and  all  will  be  inspired  to  direct  their  thoughts 
and  endeavors  to  "  land  the  ark  that  bears  our  country's  good, 
safe  to  some  peaceful  Ararat  at  last." 

The  whole  scope  and  scheme  of  the  building  as  a  temple 
of  literature  and  social  meeting  place  for  the  advancement  of 
the  mind  as  well  as  the  body  are  in  your  keeping  and  in  that 
of  your  Association.  I  present  these  keys  to  you  in  behalf 
of  the  donors,  symbolical  of  the  delivery  into  your  hands  of 
the  absolute  and  entire  possession  of  the  whole  building. 
[Applause. 

Mr.  THOMAS  E.  S.  COTTON,  President  of  the  Library 
Association,  replied  as  follows :  — 

I  can  only  say  that  I  thank  you  and  througti  you  the  Aliens 
for  their  kindness.     I  accept  this  great  gift,  and  I  thank  them 

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in  behalf  of  the  Association ;  I  thank  them  in  behalf  of  the 
whole  citizenship  of  this  town,  and  I  thank  them  again  in 
behalf  of  generations  yet  to  come  who  will  receive  the  benefit 
of  this  good  work  that  Mr.  Allen  and  his  sister  Cornelia  have 
done  for  us.     [Applause.] 

Mr.  Gallagher.  It  was  about  such  an  afternoon  as 
this,  when  I  was  a  law  student,  thirty-seven  years  ago,  that  I 
went  on  an  errand  to  an  office  in  Pemberton  Square.  The 
firm  was  absent,  but  a  student,  he  who  is  now  United  States 
commissioner,  was  there,  bowing  out  a  gentleman  and  lady  of 
middle-age,  both  courteous  and  gentle.  I  stood  aside  to  let 
them  pass  and  could  not  help  hearing  the  lady  say :  "  The 
vacant  office  will  do  for  the  *  Woman's  Journal ;  *  we  will  take 
it;  I  am  Mrs.  Uvermore;  this  [indicating  Mr.  Blackwell]  is 
Lucy  Stone's  husband."  By  the  same  token  I  am  to-day  only 
Nellie  Allen's  husband  [laughter] ;  she  is  a  cousin  of  George 
and  Cornelia,  and  although  my  name  is  on  the  progrsun  with 
a  large  title,  I  shine  only  by  reflection  from  the  Allen  name 
to-day.  She  does  not  even  trust  me  to  perform  the  simple 
and  unimportant  task  allotted  to  my  good  friend,  whom  I  have 
known  from  student  days ;  she  enlisted  him  to  assist  in  em- 
bellishing in  a  small  way  this  beautiful  building ;  he  can  tell 
his  own  story  about  his  retzuner  and  employment  as  counsel 
for  the  undertaking;  she  knew  Brother  Elder  would  do  it 
much  better  than  her  husband,  and,  naturally,  she  wanted  it 
done  the  best  possible ;  so  she  got  not  only  the  best  fellow  but 

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the  best  lawyer  she  knew  (or  perhaps  the  lawyer  she  knew 
best)  in  Boston  to  do  it.  She  knew  I  would  not  take  offence 
at  it,  because  Brother  Elder  and  I  have  been  such  old  and 
dear  friends  from  our  law  school  days.  Our  acquaintance 
was  there  formed,  and  has  ripened  into  a  friendship  that  has 
been  crystallized  year  by  year  by  association  at  the  bar,  socially, 
travelling  together  at  home  and  abroad,  on  the  ocean,  in  the 
tropics,  into  a  mutual  confidence  and  relationship  that  are  last- 
ing. Knowing  my  nature  she  knew  Mr.  Elder  must  be  a  kind 
and  peaceful  man  to  stand  me  all  those  years  [laughter] ;  she 
knew  he  must  be  essentially  "  a  man  of  peace,"  otherwise  he 
never  would  have  stood  my  irritating  and  vexatious  spirit  during 
our  travels ;  and  he  is  "  a  man  of  peace,"  because  he  has  been 
proclaimed  so  internationally.  You  know  he  represented  the 
United  States  government  before  the  Hague  Tribunal  in  that 
great  peaceful  dispute  with  Elngland  over  the  fisheries,  —  a 
case  that  a  few  years  ago  would  have  been  settled  by  a  foreign 
war ;  he  was  one  of  the  senior  counsel  for  the  United  States, 
and  he  acquitted  himself  nobly  and  well,  returning  with  well- 
eamed  laurels  for  the  peaceful  victory ;  he  is  "  a  man  of  law," 
emd  the  poet  says  "  the  man  of  law  loves  peace,  and  is  a  peace- 
ful man." 

I  do  not  know  how  extensively  Mr.  Elder  will  speak  to-day 
on  the  subject  of  "  peace,"  but  he  will  speak  for  Mrs.  Galla- 
gher of  the  time  "  piece  "  that  is  to  go  on  the  mantel  "  piece." 
[Laughter  and  applause.] 


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Mr.  *amuri  3.  Elb^r 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  —  Mr.  Gallagher 
says  I  may  tell  the  circumstances  of  my  retsiiner  in  this  case. 
I  suspect  that  when  he  first  asked  me  to  come  to  Scituate  for 
this  occasion  he  did  not  think  he  could  get  Governor  Long  or 
Congressman  Harris,  and  as  a  desperate  remedy  asked  me, 
because  when  he  finally  did  tell  me  that  Governor  Long  had 
agreed  to  come  and  that  Congressman  Harris  was  also  to  be 
here,  there  was  that  sort  of  calm,  smooth,  well-oiled  sluiceway 
[laughter]  in  his  voice  that  would  easily  toboggan  a  man  out 
altogether.  But  I  told  him  that  I  was  under  engagement ;  that 
I  was  not  going  to  be  put  off ;  that  I  would  come  in  his  auto- 
mobile, and  that  he  "  could  not  lose  me."     [Applause.] 

I  confess  in  Plymouth  County  and  in  this  presence,  which  is 
before  as  well  as  behind  me,  I  feel  somewhat  as  Mr.  Bouci- 
cault,  in  his  play  "  The  Jilt,"  —  said  of  the  Irish  jockey  who 
had  entered  his  horse  in  an  English  race,  that  he  was  an  "  out- 
sider entered  by  mistake."  Nevertheless,  I  am  more  deKghted 
than  I  can  tell  you  to  have  been  entered. 

Mr.  Gallagher  on  the  way  down  —  you  see  I  am  making 
an  absolute,  soul-free  confession  —  dared  me  to  tell  a  certain 
story.  He  said  that  with  both  Govemor  Long,  and  the  great 
dignity  of  his  high  offices  (I  will  not  say  age  because  he  will 
always  be  young),  and  Congressman  Harris  here,  there  ought 
to  be  one  story  which  would  come  to  my  mind  as  appropriate 
to  my  position.     It  was  the  story  of  a  Gloucester  schooner  off 

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Boston  Light.  Well,  on  the  whole,  I  think  the  story  is  appro- 
priate. You  see  the  schooner  was  in  a  heavy  fog,  tr)ang  to 
find  the  madn  ship  channel,  tacking  ofiF  and  on,  trying  to  get  her 
soundings,  every  little  while  getting  the  scream  8f  a  whistle  on 
some  great  steamer,  or  the  music  of  a  tin  horn  on  some  smack, 
or  the  clang  of  a  bell  on  some  Atlantic  liner.  Finally  the 
skipper  gave  it  up,  put  down  his  helm  and  ran  out  to  sea.  As 
he  did  so  the  fog  lifted,  and  right  sJiead  of  him  was  a  great 
East  Indiaman.  Putting  his  helm  up  he  ran  under  the  stem 
of  the  big  ship  and  called  out  in  a  high  squeaky  voice :  "  Ship 
ahoy!  What  ship's  that?"  The  captain  took  his  speaking 
trumpet  and  called  back:  "Ship  'Reindeer,'  Calcutta  for 
Boston."  "  How  long  have  you  been  out  ?  "  "  One  hundred 
and  fourteen  days.  What  schooner  is  that?"  "Schooner 
'Dart'  of  Gloucester."  "How  long  you  been  out?" 
"  A-a-1-1-1  night."     [Laughter  and  applause.] 

They  do  say  the  worst  thing  a  man  can  undertake  when  he 
has  told  a  story  is  to  make  an  application.  Apparently  that 
story  requires  none  to  be  made. 

We  are  very  often  told  that  the  world  is  small.  We  have 
been  told  so  for  generations,  and  it  has  been  growing  smaller. 
The  great  ocean  liners  make  bridges  across  the  seas,  and  the 
cables  draw  the  countries  together  so  that  we  tzJk  with  the 
man  in  Berlin  or  Paris  or  Rome  almost  as  if  he  were  in  the  next 
town.  Even  the  air  itself  is  vocal  with  human  thought  and 
human  messages,  and  quivers  with  the  cry  for  help  of  men  in 
peril  on  the  deep.  The  invention  of  man  has  sought  out  many 
22 


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devices,  but  they  all  draw  mankind  together,  and  teach  us 
anew  who  our  neighbor  is. 

The  world  is  very  small.  I  remember  an  old  soldier  who 
told  me  of  the  place  where  he  was  standing  at  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  just  by  the  side  of  the  color  guard  when 
he  was  hit.  A  moment  before  a  shell  from  one  of  Stonewall 
Jackson's  batteries  had  burst  near  by  and  the  color  guard  was 
wiped  out.  Years  afterwards,  having  grown  rich  and  being 
retired  from  business,  he  was  travelling  in  Egypt,  and  there 
one  night  was  smoking  his  cigarette  after  dinner  in  the  court- 
yard of  a  great  hotel.  A  tall  man  came  across  the  courtyard 
and  Scdd  •  "  I  guess  you're  a  Yankee,"  and  he  replied,  "  I 
don't  need  to  guess  that  you  are."  And  they  sat  down  and 
talked,  and  one  finally  asked  :  "  Were  you  in  the  war  ?  "  and 
the  other  said  "  Yes,"  and  they  talked  of  the  war  until  it  turned 
out  that  they  were  in  the  same  brigade.  "  Did  you  get  hit?" 
"Yes,  I  was  hit  in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run."  The 
other  said :  " So  was  I."  "  Where  were  you ? "  "I  was 
with  McDowell's  brigade  over  on  the  left  flank."  So  inside 
of  a  few  moments  these  strangers  found  they  had  been  sta- 
tioned on  the  opposite  side  of  that  same  color  guard,  had 
seen  it  wiped  out  and  had  been  shot  within  fifteen  minutes  of 
each  other.  After  forty  years  they  had  met  across  the  sea, 
and  were  brethren  as  soldiers  are  brethren. 

So  we  have  constant  illustrations  of  the  smallness  of  the 
world,  and  of  the  way  we  are  tied  together.  It  is  an  old 
sa)ang  that  you  can  never  meet  a  man  anywhere  in  the  world 

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with  whom  you  have  not  some  point  of  touch.  We  have 
another  illustration  to-day.  Away  across  the  seas  this  after- 
noon, down  by  the  shores  of  Capri,  just  now  taking  the  boat 
to  Sorrento,  is  a  lady  whose  heart  and  thought  and  feeling  are 
with  us  here  as  though  she  stood  among  us.  It  is  she  whose 
representative  I  am  at  this  moment.  Daughter  of  this  town, 
bred  into  the  heart  and  life  of  Plymouth  County,  loving  and 
revering  its  rocks  and  its  sands  and  its  sea,  she  sends  her 
tribute  to  you  and  to  this  library.  These  candlesticks  shall 
stand  in  the  presence  of  the  generations  that  are  yet  to  come, 
not  "  to  hold  up  a  candle  to  the  dial,"  but  to  tell  the  story  of 
colonial  days,  and  tell  how  the  worthy  youth  of  this  ancient 
town  pored  over  the  pages  of  the  past.  And  this  clock,  too, 
shall  turn  its  face  to  future  generations,  measure  their  days  and 
point  the  finger  to  the  flying  hours.  As  her  representative 
I  now  present  to  your  Association  the  candlesticks  and  the 
timepiece,  which  are  to  ornament  the  mantle,  over  the  fireplace 
in  the  reading  room,  inscribed  so  appropriately  with  the  Allen 
name  and  dedication. 

We  are  told  that  literature  knows  no  time,  that  great  litera- 
ture is  of  no  age,  of  no  century  and  no  generation.  Yes,  that 
is  true  because  literature  is  of  all  time,  but  it  is  only  by  seizing 
upon  time  in  its  flight  that  we  may  know  our  books  and  our 
writers,  and  those  who  have  engraved  their  lives  into  their 
books  for  our  use.  So  I  think  of  the  young  men  and  young 
women  of  this  town  in  this  library,  poring  over  the  works  of 
recent  date  and  the  works  of  ancient  date,  and  looking  up  at 
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this  clock  to  see  how  the  passage  of  time  is  allying  their  lives 
to  all  time.     [Applause.] 

Mr.  Gallagher.  If  there  were  any  acceptance  neces- 
sary for  the  Association  I  should  ask  Mrs.  Nellie  Allen  Galla- 
gher's sister  to  respond  and  receive  it,  —  she  who  is  Secretary 
of  the  Association,  Mrs.  Amy  Allen  Frye.  [Applause  con- 
tinued, during  which  Mrs.  Frye  was  reluctantly  led  on  to  the 
stage  and  bowed  her  acknowledgment.] 

When  I  was  a  ten-year-old  boy  I  used  to  spend  my  sum- 
mers in  Halifax  in  this  county.  I  stayed  with  my  mother's 
uncle  Porter.  I  recall  once  his  coming  home,  and,  as  he  took 
off  his  black  broadcloth  Sunday  coat,  telling  about  having 
been  up  on  the  jury  (I  did  not  know  what  a  jury  was  in  those 
days).  He  said,  "  There  was  a  lawyer  from  Dedham,  some 
old  fellow,  and  we  didn't  quite  know  whether  to  believe  in 
him  or  not ;  but  when  Lawyer  Ben  Harris  told  us  this  old 
man  was  filling  the  jury  full  of  *  sophistry '  our  minds  were 
made  up,  and  we  didn't  take  much  stock  in  him,  and  we 
stuck  by  Lawyer  Harris  and  gave  him  a  verdict."  I  remem- 
ber the  words  "  jury  "  and  "  sophistry."  I  did  not  know  what 
either  meant;  it  was  my  first  introduction  to  law.  I  have 
learned  since  about  both.  I  tell  the  incident  only  to  show 
how  Hon.  Benjamin  W.  Harris  was  beloved  and  respected 
in  this  county  and  throughout  the  judicial  district  of  this  and 
Norfolk  County ;  and  how  every  one  believed  in  him  and  fol- 
lowed his  guidance.     As  a  representative  in  Congress  and  as 

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a  judge  he  has  left  a  name  and  heritage  to  one  who  we  who 
know  him  personally  feel  is  worthy  of  the  inheritance,  and 
a  credit,  indeed,  to  the  name  and  family.  "  Like  father,  like 
son."  From  the  student  and  lawyer  whom  we  knew  as 
"  Bob "  Harris,  as  we  used  to  call  him  in  younger  days ; 
"  Brother "  Harris  when  he  got  to  holding  us  down  from  the 
higher  position  he  held  in  trying  cases ;  "  Your  Honor  "  when 
he  was  on  the  Superior  bench,  that  he  adorned  with  his  knowl- 
edge of  literature  and  law,  and  won  our  admiration  by  his 
fairness  and  his  practical  sense  in  decisions;  he  too  has 
received  the  encomiums  of  his  worth  at  your  hands  by  being 
honored  as  your  representative  in  the  Congress  of  our  nation. 
The  parallel  provokes  in  me  a  story,  and  I  tell  it  with  the 
deepest  reverence  and  regard  for  the  senior,  who  if  he  were 
here  would  enjoy  it  as  much  as  we. 

When  William  E.  Russell  was  a  young  man  he  tried  one 
of  his  first  cases  before  the  Admiralty  Court,  Judge  Nelson  on 
the  bench.  His  good  old  father,  Charles  Theodore  Russell, 
sat  inside  the  bar,  perhaps  to  assist  or  give  a  suggestion. 
E.  D.  Sohier,  a  contemporary  of  the  senior  Russell,  and  the 
v^t  of  the  bar  of  his  day,  came  in  to  the  court.  Knowing 
young  Russell  he  paused  for  a  moment  in  admiration,  but 
thought  he  must  have  his  joke,  so  went  up  to  the  father  and 
said :  **  Brother  Russell,  who  is  this  young  man  talking  to  the 
court?"  "Afy  son,  sir,  William  E.  Russell."  "Ah!  good 
stock !  above  par  1 "     [Applause  and  laughter.] 

A  man  who  is  welcome  all  through  Plymouth  County,  as 
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his  beloved  father  was,  is  certcdnly  qualified  to  welcome  visitors 
and  guests  and  "  the  stranger  v^thin  our  gates."  I  take  pleasure 
in  presenting  the  Hon.  Robert  O.  Harris  of  Elast  Bridgewater. 
[Applause.] 

l|0tt.  Sob^rt  ®.  I|arrta 

Gentlemen,  Members  of  the  Association,  and  Friends :  —  It 
may  seem  at  first  a  little  singular  that  Brother  Gallagher  should 
go  over  to  another  part  of  the  county  to  bring  a  man  down 
here  into  Scituate  to  welcome  you  and  your  friends  to  your 
own  new  house.  He  does  not  know  something  that  I  am 
now  about  to  reveal  to  him,  and  that  is  that,  although  not  per- 
sonally of  Scituate,  there  are  no  less  than  three  of  my  grand- 
maternal  family  lines  which  date  their  origin  in  this  town,  and 
three  of  our  family  names  are  of  Scituate  location  from  the 
earliest  days ;  so  that  perhaps  I  may  be  not  altogether  out  of 
place  when  I  come  in  here  and  say  to  those  who  are  not  of 
this  town  that  "  we  people  of  Scituate  are  glad  to  see  our  old 
friends."     [Applause.] 

I  want  to  tell  you  a  little  bit  more  of  how  I  came  to  be 
here.  Two  or  three  times  the  first  of  the  week  when  I  went 
into  my  office  in  Boston  the  boy  said :  "  Mr.  Gallagher  has 
been  in  to  see  you,"  or  "  Mr.  Gallagher  has  called  you  up  on 
the  telephone."  So  day  before  yesterday  I  got  the  boy  to  call 
up  Mr.  Gallagher,  because  I  had  visions,  you  know,  that  pos- 
sibly he  might  want  to  retciin  me  for  something.  He  said  he 
wanted  me  to  come  down  here  with  him,  zmd  I  said  I  would 

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come,  particularly  if  I  could  enlist  my  townsman  Mr.  Nutter, 
and  his  automobile,  to  come  across  the  country.  I  went  home 
that  night  and  got  a  letter;  I  am  sorry  I  did  not  bring  it;  in 
substance  it  read :  — 

Dear  Bob  :  —  I  have  put  you  on  the  program.  I  did  not  know  just 
how,  so  I  have  called  it  "  Welcome  to  Visitors  and  Guests."  That  gives 
you  a  wide  field.    You  can  say  what  you  have  a  mind  to.     [Laughter.] 

Now,  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings  it  seems  to  be  rather 
useless  to  extend  any  further  welcome  because  you  have  all 
evidently  made  yourselves  at  home. 

I  am  a  little  shy  of  Sam  Ellder  here.  I  do  not  know  which 
one  of  us  has  the  advantage.  You  remember  the  fellow  he 
was  telling  us  about  who  was  lost  in  the  fog.  First  he  would 
hear  the  big  horn  of  the  ocean  liner  2md  then  the  tin  horn  of 
the  smack.  He  looked  first  at  me  and  then  at  Governor 
Long.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  am  the  smack  or  the  liner 
paughter] ;  but  we  know  that  he  got  out  of  the  fog  and  into 
clear  weather  in  safety,  and  that  is  good  enough  for  us  any 
way. 

I  am  delighted  to  have  had  the  opportunity  to  be  here  to- 
day Euid  witness  the  dedication  of  this  new  Kbrary.  I  am 
delighted  to  think  that  the  donors  of  this  library  have  had  the 
wisdom  to  erect  it  in  their  lifetime,  and  be  present  here  with 
you  to-day  to  themselves  present  to  you  the  building,  and  to 
witness  your  pleasure  and  your  satisfaction  in  receiving  it 
[Applause.] 
28 


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Some  years  ago  in  our  own  town  an  old  gentleman  under- 
took to  provide  for  the  future,  and  put  a  fund  in  trust  for  a 
library  to  be  built  after  he  was  gone.  My  father  said  to  him 
one  day,  "  Don't  you  think  you  would  have  a  good  deal  more 
fun  if  you  built  it  now  ?  "  and  he  concluded  to  do  it.  He  did 
as  you  have  done ;  he  supervised  its  construction,  came  him- 
self on  the  day  of  the  dedication,  and  went  away  feeling  that 
he  had  done  something  that  was  well  worth  doing,  and  some- 
thing which  would  make  and  hold  for  him  a  place  in  the 
grateful  hearts  of  those  who  were  present  and  of  those  who 
are  to  come  hereafter. 

The  library  in  the  town  is  a  most  important  spot  and  place, 
which,  when  it  is  once  erected  and  given,  as  it  is  now,  should 
receive  the  fostering  care  and  generous  support  of  the  town  in 
the  future ;  it  should  be  looked  up  to,  it  should  be  made  the 
place  to  which  the  people,  young  and  old,  come ;  a  library 
should  be  well  provided  for. 

I  am  a  little  regretful  over  something  that  Mr.  Brown  has 
said,  because  I  thought  I  saw  an  opportunity  for  me  to  con- 
tribute to  your  shelves;  but  he  assures  me  that  agricultural 
reports  and  all  that  sort  of  literature  are  barred.  I  could 
furnish  you,  of  course,  with  some  literature  of  solid  informa- 
tion, consisting  of  some  of  the  "  Congressional  Records,"  with 
the  solid  speeches  that  were  made  in  former  days  in  Congress, 
and  I  can  send  to  you  some  light  fiction  in  the  form  of  some 
of  the  modern  speeches ;  and  so  to  a  certain  extent  I  may  be 
able  to  supply  your  needs,  but  I  shall  not  offer  you  the  more 

29 


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ponderous   tomes   issued    by   the    government   departments. 
[Laughter.] 

I  thank  you  again  for  the  opportunity  to  be  here,  and  I 
assure  you  it  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure  and  satisfaction  that 
I  have  been  able  to  accept  Mr.  Gallagher's  invitation  and  join 
with  you  in  this  dedication.     [Applause.] 

The  orchestra  rendered  "  Village  Bells,"  by  T.  H.  RoUin- 
son,  after  which  Mr.  Gallagher  continued  as  follows :  — 

All  is  finished,  and  at  length  has  come  the  bridal  day  of  beauty  and 
of  strength.     [Laughter.] 

I  could  not  help  it,  after  this  nautical  talk  about  "fishing 
smacks  "  and  "  ocean  liners,"  reaJly  I  felt  the  simile. 

This  ship  is  not  only  finished,  rigged,  provisioned  and 
maimed,  but  has  got  a  full  list  of  passengers  on  board.  It  is 
ready  to  be  launched  in  its  noble  work.  If  the  illustration  is 
apt,  it  will  be  done  by  a  noble  man. 

There  is  something  about  the  name  of  Allen  that  means 
prosperity.  My  own  association  with  it  has  been  beneficial. 
[Laughter.]  But  I  recall  those  days  of  thirty-five  or  thirty-six 
years  ago,  in  the  old  Tudor  building  in  Boston,  with  its  stone 
copings  over  the  windows,  which  would  be  described  by  Rob 
the  grinder,  one  of  Dickens's  characters,  as  a  "  leathery,  feath- 
ery, musty,  fusty,  dusty,  old  place."  The  back  of  the  building 
was  iron  frame,  with  little  glass  panes  to  light  the  offices  across 
the  corridors.  One  of  these  offices  was  my  quarters,  and  in 
30 


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going  in  and  out  of  the  building  I  passed  the  door  of  a  room, 
similarly  situated,  which  was  filled  with  shelves  piled  with 
papers  and  documents ;  and  I  used  to  think  to  myself,  if  I  ever 
got  enough  to  fill  one  of  the  dozens  of  tins  of  cases  I  saw  there 
I  should  be  a  prosperous  lawyer.  One  day,  the  door  being 
shut,  I  saw  on  it  the  name  of  Allen  &  Long,  and  as  the  asso- 
ciation of  Hon.  John  D.  Long  with  Stillman  B.  Allen  was 
prosperous  and  beneficial  to  him,  so  also  to  me  as  a  young 
lawyer  in  that  building  were  the  courtesy,  attention  and  kind- 
ness given  by  both  of  that  firm  of  lawyers.  It  was  in  great 
contrast  to  the  treatment  generally  accorded  younger  men  by 
the  older  practitioners  of  that  time ;  the  law  offices  were  redo- 
lent with  fight,  and  it  was  imparted  even  to  the  student  and 
juniors.  Not  so  with  these  courteous  men,  who  were  of  the 
type  of  him  who  became  Chief  Justice  Field,  and  others. 
The  young  men  looked  up  to  these  men  with  the  same  respect 
and  regard  that  the  people  of  this  county  and  the  town  of 
Hingham  do  to  our  beloved  friend  who  is  to  address  you 
to-day.    [Applause.] 

There  is  an  apt  feature,  however,  that  I  do  not  believe  the 
Governor  remembers.  We  had  something  to  do  with  starting 
this  library  nearly  thirty  years  ago.  In  '82  His  Elxcellency, 
then  Governor  Long,  was  completing  his  third  term,  and  I  had 
the  honor  to  be  a  member  of  the  upper  branch  of  the  Legis- 
lature. The  Satuit  Library  was  formed,  and  I  spoke  with  him 
about  sending  some  State  volumes  to  it ;  they  were  sent,  and  I 
do  not  know  but  what  they  have  them  now,  —  the  same  kind 

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that  Mr.  Brown  the  architect  calls  dead  wood  and  such  truck, 
perhaps  [laughter] ;  I  thought  we  were  doing  a  great  thing,  any 
way ;  however,  we  did  it,  and  the  Satuit  Library  Association 
was  formed,  and  the  Governor  and  myself  little  thought  then 
that  we  should  be  performing  the  service  we  are  to-day  under 
present  conditions.     [Applause.] 

I  was  talking  after  dinner  with  the  genial  Boniface  who 
keeps  the  Gushing  House  over  at  Hingham,  and  he  and  I 
concluded  there  never  was  and  never  would  be  another  county 
in  the  United  States  where  the  relations  between  two  great  men 
and  their  neighbors  were  so  lovable,  so  kindly,  so  mutually 
respected  as  those  of  Mr.  Webster  of  Marshfield  and  Gov- 
ernor Long  of  Hingham  with  the  good  people  of  this  county. 
[Applause.]  As  Mr.  Webster  preferred  the  town  of  Marsh- 
field,  with  his  old  friends  and  neighbors,  the  blacksmith,  the 
storekeeper  and  Tim  Williamson  the  boatman,  to  "the  ap- 
plause of  listening  Senates  to  command,"  so  our  respected 
friend  delights  in  the  association  of  old  Pl)niiouth  Gounty  and 
her  people ;  more  delighted  with  this  opportunity,  I  doubt  not, 
than  when  receiving  the  plaudits  of  the  State  as  its  Elxecutive, 
or  when  feeling  the  thanks  of  a  grateful  people  at  his  success  in 
the  Navy  Department  of  our  nation's  cabinet  during  a  foreign 
war.  I  assume  this  from  the  cordiality  with  which  he  re- 
sponded to  the  wishes  of  Mr.  George  and  Miss  Cornelia  Allen 
when  he  was  asked  to  perform  this  service.  It  is  appropriate 
that  this  temple  of  literature  should  be  dedicated  by  the  honored 
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.*v-i ^.A.j.j-v.'t •:., is-   ■  1.,,^ 


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President  of  the  corporation  of  the  University  at  Cambridge. 
He  needs  no  introduction  to  you.  It  is  my  delight  as  well  as 
my  pleasure  to  have  the  honor  to  simply  mention  and  present 
the  Hon.  John  D.  Long  of  Hingham.     [Applause.] 

Charlie  Gallagher  seems  to  remember  me  in  the  past  days ; 
I  cannot  recall  him.  [Laughter.]  He  says  I  need  no  intro- 
duction—  I  wonder  why  he  consumed  five  minutes  of  my 
valuable  time  in  giving  me  one.  [Laughter.]  He  is  an  ad- 
mirable presiding  officer  as  you  have  noticed.  I  have  only 
two  criticisms  to  make  of  him  to-day.  One  is  that  in  men- 
tioning me  and  Daniel  Webster  he  put  Daniel  Webster  first. 
[Laughter.]  The  other  is  that  he  referred  to  my  good  friend 
Sam  Elder  as  "  the  best  lawyer  in  Boston."  I  do  not  bear 
any  resentment,  —  but  how  must  Judge  Harris  feel  ?  [Laugh- 
ter.] I  can  draw  on  my  imagination  better  than  Judge 
Harris;  all  my  ancestors  were  bom  in  Scituate,  and,  fike 
him,  I  am  very  glad  to  come.  I  accepted  the  invitation  at 
once ;  it  was  fixed  for  the  8th  of  July,  but  my  friend  Gal- 
lagher pretended  that  the  time  was  extended  until  to-day,  the 
1 5  th,  for  the  purpose  of  having  me  present.  I  learn  that  the 
building  was  not  completed  until  within  a  day  or  two  ago. 
[Laughter.]     It  is  another  instance  of  Charlie's  aptness. 

The  gentlemen  who  have  preceded  me  have  taken  so  much 
time  that,  while  I  have  an  admirable  address  which  will  take 

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not  more  than  two  or  three  hours,  I  think  they  have  taken  the 
edge  off  the  occasion.     [Laughter.] 

One  of  the  most  creditable  and  distinctive  features  of  Massa- 
chusetts is  her  public  libraries.  Of  her  three  hundred  and 
fifty  towns  and  cities  not  one  is  without  that  benefit.  Nothing 
more  eloquently  testifies  to  her  intellectual  culture.  Hardly  a 
hamlet  that  does  not  surpass  ancient  Athens  in  this  respect. 
Formerly  many  of  these  libraries  —  the  book  more  vital  than 
the  cabinet,  the  meat  more  than  the  shell  —  were  lodged  in 
meagre  quarters,  —  sometimes  in  a  single  room  of  a  dwelling 
house,  thereby,  however,  all  the  more  significant  of  an  un- 
quenchable thirst  for  knowledge.  In  this  connection  we  cer- 
tciinly  do  not  forget  the  old  building  in  which  for  thirty 
beneficial  years  the  Satuit  Library  Association,  foreruimer  of 
this  present  gift,  was  your  literary  center.  But  to-day  the 
growing  wealth  and  aesthetic  taste,  often,  as  in  this  case,  the 
loyalty  of  a  grateful  son  or  daughter  of  the  town,  have  pro- 
vided many  and  many  a  beautiful  enclosure  which,  like  this, 
with  their  tasteful  architectural  effects,  are  such  an  adonmient 
to  our  village  life. 

But  we  are  to-day  not  merely  dedicating  a  lovely  smd  com- 
modious library  building  to  literary,  and,  what  is  quite  as  im- 
portant, to  social  purposes.  If  you  would  trace  the  true 
inspiring  soul  of  this  edifice  you  will  not  stop  with  its  walls  or 
its  architectural  plans,  but  will  go  into  the  sacred  recesses  of 
human  hearts,  and  you  will  catch  delicate  utterances  of  the 
spirit  and  the  lights  and  shadows  of  tender  memories  and  pious 

34 


^ill0»ti0 


REV.  MORRILL  ALLEN 


THE    ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

affections,  —  all  whispering  and  playing  about  the  hearthstones 
of  beloved  and  honored  family  circles,  and  recalling  husband 
and  wife,  child  and  parent  and  grandparent,  —  the  living  and 
the  dead ;  nay,  all  still  alive  in  the  good  works  which  they 
have  done  and  which  do  follow  them.     [Applause.] 

The  Allen  Memorial  Library !  As  you  think  of  the  scope 
of  its  noble  and  far-reaching  beneficence  with  what  gratitude 
you  turn  to  those  who  gave  it !  It  stands  as  a  memorial  to 
those  who  made  the  name  it  bears  a  synonym  for  personal 
worth  and  public  spirit.  The  best  tribute  to  them  is  in  their 
own  life  work,  which  is  typified  here  as  in  an  open  book 
before  you  in  this  edifice,  and  in  the  cordial  responsiveness 
with  which  you,  their  fellow  citizens,  have  here  gathered  to 
honor  them  in  dedicating  it.  It  emphasizes  the  example  of 
good  and  true  lives,  of  plain  living  and  high  thinking.  It  thus 
suggests  not  the  least  significant  lesson  of  the  hour.  What 
better  inspiration  can  we  have  than  this  blending  of  the 
patriotic  and  beneficent  names  of  Allen-Otis ;  this  family 
descent  which  reckons  among  its  forbears  that  model  farmer 
of  Pembroke  who  made  farming  an  art  and  a  profit,  and  who 
led  his  people  in  the  worship  of  the  Lord  and,  had  need 
been,  would,  like  his  namesake,  the  fighting  parson  of  Pittsfield, 
have  led  them  on  the  perilous  edge  of  battle  for  freedom. 
[Applause.] 

While  this  building  is  unique  in  its  purpose  it  is  yet  only  in 

the  line  and  easy  evolution  of  our  New  Elngland  system.     It  is 

as  much  a  flower  of  the  Pilgrim  and  Puritan  seed,  as  much  an 

35 


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outgrowth  from  the  "  Mayflower,"  as  much  a  result  of  that 
vote  of  the  General  Court  in  1 647  declaring  that  "  leaming 
should  not  be  buried  in  the  graves  of  our  forefathers,"  as  is 
Harvard  College  or  our  common  schools.  Still  more  does  it 
partake  of  our  later  marvellous  industrial  growths.  It  is  the 
fruit  of  that  homely,  saving  economy,  that  intelligent  thrift, 
which  characterized  early  New  England. 

And  what  a  boon!  Measure  the  value  of  your  public 
library!  Suppose  for  one  moment  that  its  contents  were 
blotted  out;  that  the  world  of  books  were  consumed;  that 
the  records  of  history,  science,  fiction  and  poetry  were  lost. 
Why,  we  live  not  in  the  present,  which  is  gone  before  we  say 
the  word,  but  in  the  past;  in  that  past  which  history  and 
literature  have  created.  What  man  in  this  region  of  the  earth 
is  so  open  to  you  in  his  heart  and  thought  and  dream  as 
David  in  his  psalm,  or  Emerson  in  his  philosophy,  or  Thackeray 
in  his  satire,  or  Dickens  in  his  fun.  Was  it  Becky  Sharp  or 
Mr.  Pickwick  that  you  were  chatting  with  just  before  you 
came  into  this  hall  ?  Or  Colonel  Newcomb  or  Leather  Stock- 
ing or  Rip  Van  Winkle  ?  Of  what  man  here  in  your  own 
town  do  you  really  know  so  much  as  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
[Applause.]  In  whose  poetic  tendernesses  or  aspirations 
among  your  neighbors  do  you  find  the  sympathy  you  find  in 
Longfellow  or  Whittier?  What  drama  of  surrounding  do- 
mestic or  public  life  is  half  as  familiar  as  that  of  Walter  Scott 
or  Shakespeare  ?  Which  of  your  neighbors  can  hold  you 
with  the  illuminated  talk  torrent  of  Macaulay  ?  [Applause.] 
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In  the  town  in  which  I  live  we  have,  like  you,  a  public 
library  founded  by  the  munificence  of  a  citizen.  Walking 
toward  it  one  perfect  day  in  June  I  met  a  young  girl  slowly 
sauntering  from  its  portals.  In  her  dress  was  the  evidence  of 
that  pathetic  poverty  which  seeks  to  hide  its  ravages  with  the 
mother's  midnight  needle  and  prudent  patch.  Her  broken 
and  overcrushed  shoes,  much  too  large,  were  the  evident  gra- 
tuity of  charity.  But  under  each  arm  was  a  library  book  and 
in  her  hands  a  third,  held  wide  open,  which  she  read  as  she 
walked.  Passing  I  caught  under  the  torn  hat-brim  that  intelli- 
gent child  face  traced  with  a  pensive  sadness  which  is  so  often 
seen  among  the  children  of  the  poor.  Apparently  my  saluta- 
tion woke  the  blue  eyes,  which  trembled  up  from  a  dream  in 
which  all  consciousness  of  the  actual  time  and  place  had  been 
lost,  and  in  which  the  soul  was  living  in  its  transcendent 
ranges  of  an  upper  world,  —  the  world  of  the  aspiring  imagi- 
nation ;  the  world  of  literature  and  mind ;  the  world  in  which 
all  the  good  and  wise  and  lovely  are  our  society.  Is  it  noth- 
ing to  have  conferred  such  a  blessing  on  one  of  God's  little 
ones,  to  have  made  such  a  one  a  messenger  of  glad  tidings  to 
some  humble  household,  which,  under  the  gifts  she  was  bring- 
ing, would  gladden  into  happiness  and  light?     [Applause.] 

Is  there  nothing,  too,  to  be  said  in  praise  of  an  agency  which 
thus  sweeps  our  vision  out  of  the  small  and  inbreeding  confines 
of  local  frictions  and  gossip  into  these  world-wide  ranges  of 
creative  power  ?  Here  in  his  single  hand  the  citizen  grasps 
the  universe.     Here  he  listens  to  the  debates  in  Congress  and 

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just  now  wishes  they  were  over.  Here  he  joins  in  the  coro- 
nation of  a  king  and  rides  in  a  royal  chariot.  Here  he  studies 
diplomatic  contests  and  looks  over  the  shoulders  of  negotiating 
ambassadors.  Here  he  cuts  the  Panama  Canal,  or  explores 
the  icy  terrors  of  the  pole,  actually  reaching  it  with  Peary  if 
not  with  Cook,  or  in  the  exquisite  realm  of  the  imagination  sings 
with  the  poet  or  inquires  with  the  philosopher.  Here  solitude 
becomes  society.  The  soul  is  supreme  master.  It  is  more 
than  education ;  it  is  possession.  The  scholar  is  king.  He 
inherits  the  earth.  No  devil  tempts  him,  yet  his  are  all  the 
kingdom  of  the  word  and  the  glory  thereof.     [Applause.] 

Thus  this  building  typifies  the  true  communion  or  socialism. 
Here  will  be  the  most  precious  and  abundant  wealth,  —  as 
far  above  all  material  mint  and  anise  and  cumin  as  the  clouds 
above  the  earth,  —  and  all  is  for  all  alike.  Ah  !  that  is  the 
sweet  assurance  which  letters,  books,  art,  literature  give  to  the 
world.  The  vicissitudes  of  fortunes,  the  rise  and  fall  of  stocks, 
the  succession  of  good  times  and  hard  times,  the  inequalities 
of  material  lot  which  are  inevitable,  —  nay,  which  are  to 
some  extent  the  soil  and  stimulus  of  social  and  individual  bet- 
terment,—  all  these  cannot  invade  this  realm;  and  he  who 
invests  his  happiness  in  this  security  will  never  suffer  bank- 
ruptcy. The  refinement  and  riches  of  study  and  letters,  open 
alike  to  all,  is  one  of  the  best  lessons  of  this  dedication,  sum- 
moning the  whole  world  to  its  communism  of  goods.  The 
wealth  of  Croesus  could  not  equal  what  this  inclosure  will 
hold,  and  it  will  be  not  the  monopoly  of  Croesus  but  in 
38 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

common  possession.  For  the  poorest  child  will  here  come 
and  here  command  statesmen,  poets,  orators,  warriors,  all  the 
greatness  of  human  career  to  his  side,  to  minister  to  his  pleas- 
ure and  instruction  and  companionship.  Under  this  vault  will 
echo  no  song  of  the  shirt,  but  the  poets  song  of  the  woods,  of 
enriched  solitude,  of  the  mind's  paradise.  And  here  the  citi- 
zen, whatever  his  quest  or  trade  or  circumstance,  will  learn 
that  to  him  these  great  spirits  of  the  past  are  of  more  interest, 
as  they  reflect  his  own  highest  ideals  and  help  him  to  realize 
them.  Nothing  to  him  the  royal  robes  or  fragrant  palaces  of 
Solomon,  but  everj^hing  to  him  David's  agony  of  pain  or 
tumult  of  aspiration,  because  they  are  the  pain  and  aspiration 
of  his  own  heart. 

Indeed,  in  the  engrossments  of  every-day  life  few  of  us 
appreciate  what  a  universal  blessing  a  library  and  a  social 
gathering  room  are.  I  have  been  delighted,  in  my  observation 
of  our  towns,  to  find  how  generally  people  of  all  conditions  of 
life  and  degrees  of  means  depend  upon  the  public  library  ;  of 
how  many  a  sick  room  it  is  the  light ;  of  how  many  a  poor 
man's  home  it  is  the  cheer ;  of  how  much  leisure  and  ennui  it  is 
the  relief ;  and  how  thoroughly  well  informed  and  well  read  the 
community  is  made  by  its  resources.  Little  does  he  know  of 
our  New  Elngland  culture  who  thinks  it  confined  to  the  select, 
or  who,  from  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  New  Ejigland 
homes,  has  not  often  found  in  them  a  wealth  and  variety  of 
reading  and  a  familiarity  with  the  field  of  authors  and  their 
works,  which  a  characteristic  reticence  often  hides,  but  which 

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is  as  surely  there  as  the  waters,  the  flow  of  which  is  in  winter 
unheard,  are  copiously  flowing  under  their  mantle  o(  snow  and 
ice. 

But  this  fact  of  the  eager  and  general  use  of  the  public 
library  suggests  most  emphatically  what  is  the  vital  and  most 
important  thing  of  all,  and  that  is  that  while  such  a  resource 
is  a  mighty  instrument  for  delight  and  for  good,  we  should  not 
forget  that  it  may  be  made  an  instrument  also  for  evil,  for 
mental  and  moral  waste  and  dissipation.  It  is  no  small  re- 
sponsibility that  falls  on  those  who  have  this  trust  in  their 
keeping  to  select  the  fare  it  shall  minister  from  its  shelves,  lest 
it  demoralize  rather  than  improve  the  public  tone.  We  are 
nowadays  especially  careful  of  the  water  or  milk  or  other  food 
which  we  distribute.  Let  us  be  careful  of  the  intellectual  and 
moral  supply  which,  under  the  great  influence  of  a  public 
library,  so  much  determines  the  moral  sentiment  of  the  people. 
It  is  here  that  the  function  of  the  librarian  is  especially  exact- 
ing. It  cannot,  under  modem  conditions,  be  avoided  that  the 
overwhelming  proportion  of  books  will  be  those  of  fiction,  and 
to  a  very  large  extent  of  light  fiction,  most  of  it  evanescent  and 
even  harmless  trash.  You  cannot  altogether  keep  it  out,  but 
an  intelligent  and  wise  librarian  can  do  much  in  directing  the 
selections  of  readers,  in  cultivating  good  taste,  and  in  leading 
the  young  into  lines  of  better  historic  and  biographic  instruction 
and  of  the  finer  works  of  imagination  and,  to  some  extent,  of 
poetry.  This  public  library  ought  also  to  be  an  aid  in  your 
schools,  trcdning  the  pupils  in  the  use  of  reference  books  and  to 

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THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

association  with  the  masters  of  English  literature,  so  as  to 
acquire  facility  in  the  use  of  material  in  composition  and  good 
style  in  writing.     [Applause.] 

Citizens  of  Scituate,  I  congratulate  you  upon  the  completion 
and  dedication  of  this  edifice.  It  is  not  the  least  interesting 
feature  in  this  occasion  that  in  this  memorial  building  we 
behold  a  marvel  more  wondrous  than  any  magical  tale  or 
Oriental  myth.  For  not  from  the  school  of  the  student,  not 
from  the  vista  of  the  poet,  not  on  the  campus  of  a  college,  but 
straight  out  of  the  hearts  and  public  spirit  of  two  of  your 
patriotic  and  loyal  citizens,  venerating  their  ancestry,  and 
mindful  of  coming  generations,  and  out  of  the  farmer's  well- 
rewarded  toil  in  this  historic  old  town  and  along  this  beautiful 
shore  of  the  broad  ocean,  springs  this  fair  flower  of  the 
gentlest  humanity,  this  fountain  of  letters,  this  charm  of 
architecture. 

It  will  be  an  unfailing  spring  of  living  water.  It  will  teach 
the  harmony  and  mutual  interdependence  of  our  common  in- 
terests, and  to  use  the  word  that  Daniel  Webster  loved,  make 
us  all  neighbors.  It  illustrates  the  truth  that  wealth  can  never 
accumulate  to  the  sole  use  of  any  one  hand  and  only  finds  its 
fitting  appropriation  when  held  in  trust  and  applied  to  the 
general  welfare.  It  is  a  memorial  to  all  the  beauty  and 
wisdom  of  the  past,  and  will  raise  still  higher  that  aim  for  the 
future  to  which  it  is  at  once  an  index  and  a  spur. 

Long  may  its  blessings  shed  their  influence  on  you  and 
yours  as  the  sunshine  and  showers  refresh  and  fructify  the 

41. 


THE     ALLEN     MEMORIAL     LIBRARY 

responsive  soil.  Ah,  how  gratefully  you  and  succeeding  gen- 
erations,^s  you  or  they  pass  or  enter  it,  will  bless  the  Allen 
Memorial  Library  1     [Prolonged  applause.] 

The  orchestra  having  performed  Fulton's  "  Battleship  Con- 
necticut," Mr.  Gallagher  concluded  as  follows :  — 

The  Lord  has  indeed  smiled  on  us  this  day ;  He  has  cer- 
tainly blessed  the  work  in  hand ;  it  is  with  grateful  hearts  that 
we  close  the  exercises  by  a  benediction  from  an  old  Scituate 
resident,  for  many  years  the  pastor  of  Mr.  and  Miss  Allen. 

Rev.  NATHANIEL  SEAVER.  And  now  may  the  God 
of  wisdom,  of  love  and  of  might,  shed  his  richest  blessings 
upon  this  institution,  making  it  not  only  a  source  of  intellect 
with  us,  but  a  family  joy  of  the  purest  wisdom  and  public 
spirit.     Amen ! 

After  the  literary  exercises,  the  ladies  of  the  Allen  Library 
Association  served  ice  cream  and  cake,  thus  concluding  the 
dedication  by  adding  refreshment  for  the  body  as  well  as  for 
the  mind. 


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University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


JAN  1  6  19^)? 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  UBRARY  FACIUTY 


A    000  743  003    6 


A 


